The Fugitive, Season Two Volume 1 - Reviews - Page 17

Charles Thaxton · 06-18-2008, 08:25 PM

Check out this article with comments from Alan Armer, FUGITIVE producer:

http://classictvhistory.wordpress.co...video-release/

Carabimero · 06-18-2008, 08:59 PM

"We hope our track record on previous releases shows that we truly care about classic TV and its fans."

Does anyone think I'm reading too much into the spokesperson's comment, touting their track record as a kind of indirect way of saying, "We know we screwed up and we're going to fix it."

Admittedly, I'm looking for any glimmer of hope here.

Mark Y · 06-18-2008, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles Thaxton

Imagine Capitol Records releasing new remasters of all the Beatles albums but due to unresolved rights issues with Ringo, they decide to wipe all his drum tracks and have Phil Collins re-record all of them. Yes, the songwriting is still evident on all the tracks but should they be released as "the Beatles"??? Same thing applies here. They had NO right to change the music....since they were not part of the original creative team behind the show.

Funny thing is, session drummer Bernard Purdie has claimed they did exactly that back in 1964, and it's Purdie we've been hearing all these years! (It's nonsense, but a few of the Beatles' pre-EMI tracks with original drummer Pete Best were re-released in the US with another drummer overdubbed, and some have speculated this is what Purdie remembered.)

Back to the discussion at hand...

Cheetah · 06-18-2008, 09:32 PM

Quote:

That being said, im just curious, if there were only two options:

1. Get all the rest of the Fugitive seasons released with altered scores.
2. Not release any more sets.

Which would you guys prefer?

I don't have any of these episodes on VHS, but I would definitely prefer no further releases if those are the only two options. Treat the show with the great respect it deserves or don't bother at all.

This is extremely pathetic and the BS response from CBS/Paramount only served to anger me even further. I would have no problem waiting a few years if necessary if they needed the time to address any legal issues. As was mentioned previously, all they had to do was let us know the reason(s) behind any delays.

Steve...O · 06-18-2008, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carabimero

"We hope our track record on previous releases shows that we truly care about classic TV and its fans."

Does anyone think I'm reading too much into the spokesperson's comment, touting their track record as a kind of indirect way of saying, "We know we screwed up and we're going to fix it."

Admittedly, I'm looking for any glimmer of hope here.

Carab, it is exactly because of that track record that I'm puzzled by the very poor way CBS/P has handled this all the way from the non-disclosure/altered credits to the tardy & less than stellar explanation.

I agree with you that if enough consumers complain that there is a reasonable chance this release will get fixed to the extent possible. There may be some music that will not be clearable; but I would expect, based on the S1 release, the bulk of it will be properly reinstated.

The Paramount syndication bible indicates that all of S2 has been transfered to HD which suggests that S2 V2 materials with replaced music have likely already been prepared. Given that CBS/P now knows that sales of same will be dismal it will be interesting to see what approach they take towards releasing it (assuming they do).

Quote:

I noticed Perry Mason used plenty of library cues in the early episodes. I wonder if they will stay intact in future releases.

That thought has crossed my mind also. (shudders)

Carabimero · 06-18-2008, 11:06 PM

Maybe we should delete all references to the possible Mason problem--why alert anyone?

Carabimero · 06-18-2008, 11:08 PM

Also, do we really have any hard early evidence that sales of S2V1 have been drastically poor (Amazon is a good sign but not a definitive indicator, IMHO)? It's logical to think they dropped, but to the extent it affects the bottom line and ultimate change...we can only hope...

Stephen Bowie · 06-19-2008, 01:06 AM

Gord & David, let me belatedly check in and congratulate you on prying a statement loose from CBS, however unhelpful it turned out to be. (Your title for that post, incidentally, sounds sorta familiar.) I'm going to save any substantial comment for an update on the recent developments on my blog later this week; but, one of the key points there will be the need to not let the matter drop after receipt of the usual corporate non-answer. I would hope that TVShowsonDVD (and any other outlet covering this story) immediately recognized the omissions in CBS' statement, and fired back some specific questions on the aspects of the situation that the statement did not address.

On another matter, I've just now noticed something subtle about the altered title card(s) in the closing credits. I had just assumed that the new names were digitally added to the original card, but on closer inspection (see the frame grab comparison on my blog), you can tell that the entire title card was redone. The new typeface is slightly narrower, so that the crew's titles don't extend as far across the screen as they originally did (notice how "Post Production Supervisor" covers almost the entire width in the original but ends above the "Z" in John Elizalde's name now). I've already sent my DVDs back, so my question to those of you who still have copy is this: were the entire closing credits redone in the new font, or is this one card in a different font than the others? I'm not sure which is more infuriating, although a total replacement of the end credits would amount to a somewhat more extensive visual edit than we'd pointed out before.

Carabimero · 06-19-2008, 02:17 AM

We mustn't put the impetus only on David and Gord--it is important that everyone who believes strongly in restoring the music in the set writes CBS and Paramount physical letters and asks those same hard questions.

I implore all of you to send handsigned letters as soon as possible.

Trevtpir · 06-19-2008, 05:53 AM

I would be more than happy to e-mail CBS's video department in a civil, but firm tone. I would tell them that they could redeem themselves if they restored the original music in these sets. My e-mail would NOT, repeat, NOT contain personal attacks against anyone. What's the video department's e-mail address?

Carabimero · 06-19-2008, 06:42 AM

Emails, if not ignored outright, don't carry nearly as much weight as a handsigned, mailed letters, which can be sent to:

Paramount Home Entertainment
5555 Melrose Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90038

Bob Hug · 06-19-2008, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carabimero

Also, do we really have any hard early evidence that sales of S2V1 have been drastically poor (Amazon is a good sign but not a definitive indicator, IMHO)? It's logical to think they dropped, but to the extent it affects the bottom line and ultimate change...we can only hope...

I can't be sure of release day statistics, but since the music replacement issue has been made known, the release of "The Fugitive" S2, V1 has not cracked the top 20 of TV-on-DVD releases at DeepDiscount. And that's with a 20% off sale going on. Other recent CBS Paramount releases like "Mannix" S1, "Hawaii Five-0" S4, and "The Odd Couple" S4 are all among the top 20 TV-on-DVD releases. Between Amazon and Deep Discount, arguably the largest online DVD sellers, online sales have to be affected somewhat.